Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 407 Please Spare His Life
As a result, Master Ge, who had a good appetite, finished half a pot of copper pot fish by himself.
As for the remaining half, Zhang Shou ate more than half, and the two young students from Cangzhou ate the other half. Moreover, compared with Zhang Shou who looked calm, and Ge Yong who was eating happily despite the spicy food, the two of them were in tears. Fortunately, there were soup and vegetarian dishes to relieve the spiciness, otherwise they would not know how to continue.
The guest who had started to make bold comments, however, smelled an unusual fragrance from the neighboring table and boldly stood up to take a peek at the copper pot fish on Zhang Shou's table. He then called the shopkeeper over to question him. When he learned that a spice called chili from overseas was added to the copper pot, he immediately became unhappy.
But he endured it again and again. Seeing that Zhang Shou and Ge Yong's table was already in a mess and it was obvious that they had finished eating, he thought about how approachable the teacher and student were and had no airs, so he mustered up the courage to step forward and bow.
"Master Ge, Doctor Zhang, may I ask what the strange foreign spices in this copper pot of yours are..."
When Zhang Shou asked Zhu Er and others to plant the peppers as soon as possible before leaving, he planned to make some noise on the way back to Beijing, just like asking Xu Ba to sell rice noodles with peppers at the Cangzhou dock. So, when someone came to ask him about it, he didn't feel strange at all, and of course he was very happy to answer.
"That's pepper from overseas. I got it from an old sea merchant. Although it's rare, it's now being grown on a trial basis. It can not only be used for seasoning, but it can also remove dampness. It's the most suitable seasoning for cooking and hot pot."
Hearing what Zhang Shou said, the quick-talking guest immediately showed an even more curious expression: "Chili? There is only one character difference between it and our Huajiao Pepper. Is it because the taste is similar that they have similar names?"
"There are some similarities." Zhang Shou thought this person was quite smart for making such an association because of the word "pepper". He nodded and said, "Pepper is hot and dry, Sichuan pepper warms the middle and dispels cold, and chili pepper dispels cold and stops diarrhea. They all have their own effects, but the taste of pepper is mild, Sichuan pepper is spicy, and chili pepper is truly spicy. And adding it to dishes can add the finishing touch."
As he spoke, he smiled and said, "When I was in Cangzhou before, I asked a rice noodle vendor at the dock to make rice noodles for me. Although it is just a southern snack, adding a few drops of sesame oil soaked in chili peppers makes the taste very different..."
Asking a foodie to describe food is the right person. Moreover, Zhang Shou not only knows how to eat, but also how to cook. He not only described the indescribable seasoning effect of peppers, but also mentioned potatoes, peanuts, corn, pumpkins, tomatoes... all kinds of crops that no one knew before were turned into dishes from his mouth. In the end, more than one person was drooling.
Just as this meal turned into Zhang Shou's food promotion meeting - everyone was just listening but not eating, a voice suddenly came from outside: "Excuse me, Master Ge and Dr. Zhang live here?"
Upon hearing this voice, not only did Zhang Shou frown slightly, but even the shopkeeper immediately frowned. Thinking that Jiang Gelao from Luheyi was still trying to pull his customers over, the latest generation of the head of the century-old shop was very unhappy. However, as the owner of this place, he had to run to the door like a gust of wind.
However, he had just admitted to others that Zhang Shou and Ge Yong lived in his place, and before he had time to find an excuse to evade the visitor, he saw the middle-aged man who came down from the horse pushed him aside and then strode straight in. At that moment, he was a little dazed, and when he came to his senses, he even had the urge to shout that there was an assassin.
It was that reckless guy who almost made him lose his balance and fall to the ground!
Zhang Shou was also startled by the guy who rushed in. Because from the first impression, he felt that it was definitely not the servant who seemed to be the Jiang family's personal attendant before. Even servants of wealthy families can wear silk, but at least the style is different. While he was trying to figure out the origin of the visitor, Ah Liu had already blocked the visitor with a quick step.
This time, before Ah Liu could make any further moves, the uninvited guest knelt down with a thud: "Master Ge, Doctor Zhang, my son is young and ignorant. He made a big mistake out of confusion. Please forgive him this time!"
What's going on? What the hell is going on!
Zhang Shou raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was unexpected that the people who came were not from the Jiang family, but people who came to ask them to let their son go. He thought that Lord Jiang would be humble and tolerant and personally come to give up the house, and ask him and Ge Yong to move back in, and then establish a good image of a retired Lord as a glorious and noble one!
At this moment, he glanced at Ge Yong in confusion, and decided readily that since the teacher was there, he would just pretend to be mute.
Ge Yong, who was named, was completely annoyed. He stared at the man for a long time, and then said in a deep voice: "A Liu, help him up. I hate people who kneel on the ground for no reason! Who is this person? He came in without even saying his name and asked me to spare his son... Who knows who his son is!"
Hearing Ge Yong's words, Ah Liu immediately stepped forward and pulled up the middle-aged man who was lying on the ground. The middle-aged man struggled twice but failed to break free, and hurriedly said loudly: "I am Huang Xian, the prefect of Hejian. My son is ignorant and arrogant. First, he offended the daughter of the Duke of Zhao, and then he made trouble in Cangzhou and joined forces to cause trouble. It's all because of my failure to discipline him. He deserves death!"
Zhang Shou then remembered that Master Huang and Master Bi were sent to the capital by Zhu Tingfang in two prison carts. He could not help but look thoughtfully at the middle-aged man in front of him who claimed to be the prefect of Hejian.
It has to be said that because he raised such a stupid son, and that stupid son also claimed that he had tens of thousands of dollars in cash, his first impression of the Hejian prefect was that he was a corrupt official who did not know how to educate his son.
Such corrupt officials are usually shameless and willing to sacrifice their own pawns to save their own chariots. In his opinion, it is the right style to put all the blame on his son and then claim that he did not teach his son well. Even the charges against his son should be evaded. However, Huang Xian, the governor of Hejian, readily admitted the two biggest charges against his son and begged them to show mercy.
So, he hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to remain silent. The teacher was there, so how could he say that he would never forgive or be tolerant?
As expected, Ge Yong sneered and said, "Since you know that your son has violated the law, why are you still making a fuss? Do you think that you can let him escape punishment by pleading for him? Do you know what bastard things he has done in Cangzhou! He even sent that Bi Shiye to lobby the merchants and let them band together to falsely accuse the imperial envoy? You are not failing to discipline your son, you are letting your son break the law!"
"I dare not. I just asked him to travel. I didn't expect him to be so arrogant and bold. He was spoiled by me and his mother!" Huang Kuan, the governor of Hejian, was already in tears. "His mother has spoiled him since he was a child. I was busy with official duties and didn't discipline him. As a result, he is neither good at literature nor martial arts, but he is self-righteous..."
A dignified fourth-rank prefect was now banging his head on the ground, crying so sadly.
"I grew up in poverty, and my first wife was the daughter of a poor scholar. So when we had a son, we recalled the difficult times in the past, and my wife said that we must not let the children suffer such hardships. So since we had two sons and a daughter, I and my wife have tried every means to give them the best and raised them in wealth since they were old enough to understand."
Faced with such an explanation, Ge Yong, a typical hands-off parent, was greatly surprised, while Zhang Shou... had a sense of déjà vu of those wealthy parents in later generations! This time, seeing that Ge Yong had no intention of speaking, he asked calmly: "Then may I ask Mr. Huang, your young son is so wealthy after traveling abroad. Is this also given by you, your parents?"
The answer he heard once again overturned his perception that the Hejian prefect was just a corrupt official - this guy was indeed a bit greedy, but it must be said that even if a person is really a bit greedy, his behavior is a little different from that of an ordinary corrupt official.
"Yes, to be honest with you two, my wife and I were tired of being poor, so after becoming officials, we tried every possible way to make money."
Huang, the prefect, wiped his eyes and nose vigorously with a handkerchief and said pitifully, "I passed the imperial examination and became a top-ranked Jinshi. After studying at the imperial court, I was released to serve as a county magistrate. That was a large grain-producing county. I couldn't resist my wife's eagerness to make money. In addition, the local grain merchants lowered the grain price in good years. So my wife sent someone to take over a grain store that was about to go bankrupt. Every time the harvest came, she would charge an extra five cents per bushel for the grain."
"Because they are honest and trustworthy... Actually, it was mainly because the prices were a little bit higher, and with the support of me, the official in charge, the grain store finally gained a firm foothold. Later..." He began to stammer as he spoke, and after a while he seemed to feel guilty before saying, "Later, other big households and grain stores could not bear it and launched a counterattack. My wife... my wife's methods became much more ruthless..."
Perhaps because he knew that he would not be able to become the prefect and would most likely be convicted; or perhaps because he wanted to explain clearly where the 8,000 yuan in notes his son had on him came from, although Prefect Huang was a little hesitant, he still explained the history of his family's rise to wealth.
It was nothing more than that his wife's business would go wherever he served as an official - every time he was in office, he would win over one faction and suppress the other. Before leaving office, he would not forget to maintain good relations with the successor. Some would be given certain benefits, while others would directly sell or give away their properties. Although it cannot be said that he had made a fortune in more than ten years in the officialdom, he had earned a fortune that was far better than a well-off life.
The Huang family, once penniless, now had farms, shops, and 30,000 to 50,000 strings of liquid capital - money deposited in a bank these days was considered liquid capital in Zhang Shou's eyes. So, when the youngest son went out to travel for the first time in his life, Mrs. Huang, who had spoiled her son, gave him a stack of banknotes.
As for Magistrate Huang, when he found out about this, his youngest son had been gone for more than a month! When he questioned his wife, she said to him with confidence: If a child has no money, he will learn bad things!
When Zhang Shou heard this argument, his first reaction was that when parents spoil their children and let them go on a long journey, they would stuff a wad of money in their hands and then teach them earnestly that they were afraid of nothing because they had money in their pockets and could rely on money to get through any difficulties. As a result, the children really thought that they were the richest in the world and swaggered all the way.
But the biggest problem is that Mr. Huang’s age...he can’t really be considered a child!
After saying a lot of things, Prefect Huang wiped his tears and said, "Now that my son has caused such a big disaster, I have already confessed my crime to the court and am now going to Beijing to await punishment. I know that people will inevitably dig up the old accounts from my time in office, so it is better to be honest than to hide them."
"I have never collected less than one cent of taxes from the court, nor have I collected one cent more. I have always been conscientious in judging the cases. I swear to heaven that the accounts I hand over to you are all clean and clear. I have never had an unjust case while I was in office. This can stand up to scrutiny. If there is any lie, I am willing to be punished by the law!"
"In addition, I have done everything I should do, including building roads, bridges, and digging canals, and helping the elderly, the poor, and the disabled. I should never use my position to engage in business and make money, and spoil my son to the point of being lawless and reckless. I will admit all the crimes he should have, and I only ask that Master Ge and Doctor Zhang, considering his young age and ignorance, give him a lighter sentence."
He seemed to not care about the onlookers, as well as the stunned shopkeeper and his staff. He kowtowed heavily, then made up his mind and said, "Even if you beat him with dozens of sticks or exile him thousands of miles away, please spare his life!"
It was only at this moment that Zhang Shou felt a sense of absurdity. He winked at Ah Liu, and seeing the young man immediately step forward and drag the prefect Huang up, he asked delicately, "Who said your son would die?"
When Huang Zhifu was pulled up from the ground by Ah Liu, he still had a dazed look on his face. He subconsciously said, "Didn't even Changlu County Magistrate Xu Cheng get chopped off?"
Judging from the guy's tone just now, he has been an official for many years and has achieved good results, so how could he be a little stupid? Zhang Shou was almost choked to the point of being amused and crying. Just because Xu Cheng, the magistrate of Changlu County, was beheaded, he thought that his youngest son who caused trouble and caused a huge disaster would also be beheaded? Isn't this idea a bit far-fetched?
However, perhaps the other party felt that since Zhu Tingfang dared to kill even an official appointed by the imperial court, Mr. Huang, who had offended Zhu Ying and then schemed against his own uncle, would certainly not let him go?
Ge Yong, who also tasted the taste , couldn't help but sneer and said, "The country has its own laws, and the family has its own rules. If your son deserves to die, no one can save him. If your son doesn't deserve to die, he won't die just because of other people's likes and dislikes. It's interesting that you revealed so much in public, and you're not afraid of it being spread out."
"But I'm curious, how did you find this place?"
Facing Grand Tutor Ge's question, Prefect Huang hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Everyone in Tongzhou knows that Lord Jiang has occupied the entire courtyard of Luhe Posthouse, leaving you and Dr. Zhang with nowhere to live, so you have no choice but to stay at the inn."
